Studied by 1 person
Abuse of Power
occurs when the state assumes and exercises power it ought not to have; overstepping
Corruption
involves the misuse of political office for material advantage, or acts undertaken for political advantage
standards for defining it vary
ex: bribery
Criminal State
when some form of state criminality becomes a dominant force in the operation of the state
any state successfully labeled as such by one or more other states that are either victorious over it or have the political
power to impose such a label
War Crimes
uncalled-for aggression and crimes against peace
examples include the use of poisonous gases, biological and chemical weapons, nuclear weapons, etc.
Vietnam
Billions of pounds of bombs were dropped on Vietnam, and millions of Vietnamese were killed, wounded, orphaned, or up- rooted by the war. Many U.S. soldiers were also injured and killed.
illegal because Congress never declared war (required by the constitution).
unclear if there were any positives to going to war with Vietnam
no official has been required to defend the decision to pursue Vietnam
Genocide (aka Ethnic Cleansing)
mass killing directed at some identifiable group of people
Holocaust
most dramatic, fully documented, and extreme case of genocide
ever. About 6 million Jews died
the nuremberg trials were held for the surviving Nazi leadership after all those deaths
there was question of whether the Nazi leaders could be tried by the Allies when no fully recognized international criminal law existed
International Criminal Court
jurisdiction to adjudicate allegations (against individuals, not nations) of war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity
established in July 2002
Repressive State
does not go so far as waging a formal campaign of genocide, but it systematically deprives its citizens of fundamental human rights
Corrupt State
a government used as an instrument to enrich its leadership
-ex: using gov. money for personal purposes instead of for the public
State Negligence
a situation in which “crimes of omission” are committed
the state fails to prevent loss of human life, suffering, and deprivation that are in its power to prevent
Malfeasance
doing something you are prohibited from doing
Nonfeasance
failing to do something you are required to do
Misfeasance
performing a permissible act in an improper manner
State-Organized Crimes
acts defined by law as criminal and committed by state officials in pursuit of their job as representatives of the state
Watergate Crimes
two primary aspects: a break-in and burglary in June 1972 and the broad range of abuses of power by the Nixon administration including illegal surveillance, dirty tricks, cover-ups, and enemies’ lists
focused on maintaining power and punishing political enemies
Iran-Contra
arms sold to Iran, proceeds used to fund contras (Nicaraguan rebels) to encourage release of hostages in Lebanon
CIA
established after World War II to prevent another Pearl Harbor, a surprise attack on U.S. territory, and in response to the emerging “Cold War”
periodically violated its own charter
COINTELPRO
the umbrella name for various counterintelligence programs
the FBI had engaged in extralegal and illegal disruption and destabilization of dissident political groups through this
Hoover
appointed FBI director at a time when the small government agency was plagued by corruption charges.
skillful in promoting a favorable public image of the agency
maintained secret files on govn. officials, probably as part of blackmail
Police Crime
can be a form of state-organized crime involving the abuse of power or occupational crime, primarily corruption
ex: police brutality, testilying (testimonial lies)
Political System Corruption
a small power elite controls decision making and the general population is largely indoctrinated with the “official line”
Political Action Committees (PACs)
can be created by any interest group, but wealthy people use them to funnel large amounts of money to political candidates.
used for legalized bribery so that it gives individuals a huge advantage, and can actually impact legislatures’ votes.
worse after Citizens v. United released restrictions on spending for political elections
1789 Tammany Hall
were pretty obvious about their corruption, to a point where their greed got them prosecuted due to public outrage
Reached its apex under Tweed’s leadership, and he was eventually convicted of 204 criminal accounts. He died in prison.
Credit Mobilier
a holding company organized in 1864 to coordinate the westward expansion of the Union Pacific railroad
Shares in the company were made available to many congressmen at nominal cost (or given as gifts) and Congress schemed to greatly enrich the shareholders.
no congressmen criminally prosecuted
Junketing
taking trips to exotic locations at the taxpayers’ expense, often on the superficial pretext of making a legislative study
Double Billing
in which both a private corporation and the government are billed for the same item
Kinds of Legislative Crime
junketing
double billing
franking (free mailing)
using official congressional staff for purely political or personal purpose
conflict-of-interest offenses
Judicial Branch
judges have been charged with crimes including bribery, extortion, obstructing justice, income tax evasion, embezzlement, fraud, and abuse of authority.
least tainted of the three branches by corruption
State-Corporate Crimes
illegal or socially injurious actions that occur when one or more institutions of political governance pursue a goal in direct cooperation with one or more institutions of economic production and distribution
Exxon Valdez
millions of gallons of oil spilled from the Valdez ship
coast guard and pipe company also involved
the captain of the ship had the bare minimum credentials
there was no real hierarchy of command(s) involved
Fire in Hamlet
An explosion of a hydraulic line at Imperial Food Products led to a fire during which people could not leave.
emergency doors were locked for fear that employees would steal chicken nuggets
25 people dead and 56 injured
Space Shuttle Challenger
The explosion of a spaceship that led to 7 deaths
factors include political pressure (quality overlooked for budget), attempted nothings (pretended to fix O-rings), fatal flaw (O-rings not working), risk v. reward (NASA bullied MTI into launching)
O-rings were proven to be worse during cold weather
Nazi Germany (Ordinary Business)
Nazis basically made prisoners of war work
there were forced labor camps in Ford and Kodak
Chase Manhatan seized funds and never returned them
motivations for mass killings was because they wanted to climb the ladder
ValuJet Flight 592
A ValuJet crashed
This was a company known for being cheap
they had purchased three planes, two of which needed new oxygen generators
weather was not a factor and staff was trained properly
they didn’t have fire/smoke equipment
World Bank
characterized as paternalistic, secretive, and counterproductive in terms of its claimed goals of improving people’s lives.
has been charged with
complicity in policies with genocidal consequences
exacerbating ethnic conflict
increasing the gap between rich and poor
fostering immense ecological and environmental damage
neglecting agriculture so crucial to survival in developing countries
the callous displacement of vast numbers of indigenous people in these countries from their original homes
NGOs (non-govermental organizations)
organization independent from the government
part of the reason ordinary people lose their power over their economic destiny
Finance Crime
large-scale illegality that occurs in the world of finance and financial institutions.
Banking/Thrift
Banks are supposed to be trustful, but they do commit fraud.
they take money from customers through interest, and they use bank statements that are hard to understand
Money Laundering
the criminal practice of taking ill-gotten gains and moving them through a sequence of bank accounts, so they look like legitimate profits from legal businesses
S and L Fraud (Savings and Loans)
a type of fraud that is hard to tell when it is fraud v. bad business judgement
there isn’t enough regulation
most convicted people were minor players
very few people actually robbed a bank
1982 Garn–St. Germain Act,
raised the federal deposit guarantee from $40,000 to $100,000 and allowed the S & Ls to offer much more competitive rates, attract huge “brokered” packages of deposits, and make a broad range of investments and loans, including unsecured commercial loans
Unlawful Risk Taking
exceeding the practices legally available to the S & Ls, even in the deregulated 1980s
Huge loans were made to developers engaged in highly speculative projects; the borrowers did not necessarily put any of their own money into these projects, and they did not even pay the origination fees
If the projects succeeded, investors stood to make a lot of money; if they failed, the developers simply defaulted on the loan, and the taxpayers paid the price
Collective Embezzlement
As deposits began to pour into the S & Ls in huge amounts, executives and directors began to siphon off an extravagant percentage of this money for themselves
they used the money for personal affairs, like private jets
Resolution Trust Corporation
a massive property-management company, cleaning up what was, at the time, the largest collapse of U.S. financial institutions since the Great Depression.
Insider Trading
trading material non-public information
Michael Milken
recognized that vast amounts of money could be raised through issuing and selling high-yield, high-risk junk bonds.
successful in developing and selling such bonds and in advising companies seeking to expand or to take over other companies
considered the junk bond king
pled guilty to 6 charges of securities fraud and securities
Junk Bonds
high risk, high payoff, offered by companies seeking to raise money, high default rates
Derivatives
financial product derived from an underlying entity
a contract between two parties which derives its value/price from an underlying asset
ex: (forwards futures) contracts between two parties to buy or to sell an asset at a specified future time at a price agreed upon today
Financial Markets
Crime includes
a massive check-kiting scheme against banks, masterminded by the prestigious brokerage firm
systemic cheating of customers by Chicago commodities traders
phony bidding in U.S. Treasury bonds by the celebrated Salomon Brothers investment bank
a long-running fraud within a rigged foreign currency marketplace
the sale of illegal tax shelters by a major accounting firm, KPMG
the revelation of significant fraud in the mutual fund and hedge fund industries
Stock Advisors
often function as sales reps- promoting a company’s stock instead of as impartial analysts
Could be rewarded/bonuses
May own stock in companies they promote
Churning
excessive trading in accounts to increase brokerage (buying or selling assets for clients) commissions
Insurance Industry Fraud
Insurance companies are largely unregulated
The financial misrepresentations and manipulations of insurance companies, while enriching their top executives, put the interests of their clientele in jeopardy
Biogenetic Explanation of Crime
criminals are inherently different from other people, even down to their appearance
Atavism
criminals are evolutionary throwbacks who are inferior to non criminals
Phrenology
the detailed study of the shape and size of the cranium as a supposed indication of character and mental abilities.
Psychological Explanations of Crime
the focus is on personality, mental processes, the enduring effects of early childhood traumas, etc.
Freud: crime can be viewed as a reflection of the eternal conflict between the desires of the indiv. and the needs of civilization
Personality: corporate patterns of lawbreaking are independent of specific indiv. personalities and not all corporate divisions governed by a WCCriminal with a specific personality will engage in lawbreaking
people with a desire to control were more likely to commit WCC
Sociogenic Explanations of Crime
focuses on alleged differences in criminal propensities among members of different social classes or groups
Gottfredson and Hirschi (1990) suggested that varying levels of self-control leads to crimes and that low social control is more shown in lower-class individuals
Sutherland
believed WCC to be organized crime
Cressy, Braithwaite, and Fisse
Cressey: thought corps should be distinguished from real people. They cannot learn, do not have motivations, and cannot form intent
Braithwaite and Fisse: defended the notion that corporations can take criminal action and can be properly held responsible for such action. They possess autonomy and thus can properly be held responsible for their decisions
Organizational Criminality
offenses committed by officers of organizations on behalf of the organization
the entire organization is seldom involved in corporate crime, and the majority of personnel do not directly participate
Crime Coercive
compel others to commit crimes
Crime Facilitative
provide conditions that promote criminal conduct
Sociological Theories of Crime
Focus on structural factors
Structural Perspective
focuses either on social conditions that account for specific forms of criminal behavior or on how the distribution of power and resources influences how crime is defined and generated
Differential Association Theory
Crime is learned from peers
broad range of learning options generally available to the white collar offender and the complex nature of the offenses themselves
criticisms: does not adequately account for structural origins of the illegal patterns of behavior
Rational Choice Theory
people don't randomly commit crime.
they use a logical decision-making process and weigh the costs and benefits
those who are better educated and better positioned in life would seem to have an advantage in considering and acting on various options.
criticisms: may not apply when humans are confused and uncertain how to act, lack clear precedents, or be driven by emotions
Routine Activities Theory
Crime is most likely to occur with a motivated offender, attractive target, and a lack of guardianship
the legitimate features of work roles are the key to understanding WCC because the work role provides the specific opportunity for illegal actions
Social Control Theory
people with strong bonds (attachment, commitment, involvement, and belief) to social institutions are less likely to commit crime.
corporate executives with stronger bonds to the corporation are more likely to engage in corporate crimes on behalf of the corporation
criticism: the assumptions—that a natural inclination toward committing crimes is broadly diffused—would seem to be at odds with Hirschi and Gottfredson’s (1989) general theory, which suggests that levels of self-control vary among indiv.s
Labelling Theory
naming someone deviant leads them to deviance
powerful individuals and organizations are more likely than the powerless to be able to avoid being labeled as deviant
criticism: WCCriminals who have been processed by the criminal justice system typically have more legitimate options than do conventional offenders
Neutralizations
negating blame for criminal acts through some excuse
pertain to future or ongoing behavior
5 techniques:
denial of responsibility
denial of injury
denial of victim
condemnation of condemners
appeal to higher loyalties
Rationalizations
attempting to explain or justify behavior or an attitude with logical reasons, even if these are not appropriate.
Account
justification for an action which are invoked after the behavior has occurred
Anomie/Strain Theory (Merton)
a generalized goal of material success is promoted, but the means to achieve such success legitimately are not equally distributed
those who accept the goals of society but reject legit means are innovative
Conflict Theory (aka Marxist)
concerned with identifying how the values and interests of different groups conflict
rejects the consensus theory notion of the social world as an organic system.
criticism: would seem to offer little by way of explaining white collar crime and criminality, unless we recognize that the possession of power is a relative matter
Inside Job
Mortgage crisis in 2008 due to large scale deregulation, large scale greed and fraud, and the collapse of a large investment bank and the biggest insurance company that led to the stocks plummeting
CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations)
pooled assets consisting of mortgages, bonds etc.; a kind of derivative sold to investors
they contain tranches which are pieces of the debt that carry various risk levels.
Credit Default Swaps
huge quantities of derivatives that acted as insurance for investors. AIG would pay them if things went sideways with their CDO, and spectators could use them to bet against CDOs that they didn’t own.
Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
The act established (and sometimes extended) agencies and laws to regulate the financial system, including
The Financial Stability Oversight Counsel- controls banks so that they don’t get too large and out of control
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)- makes sure that potential borrowers understand the mortgages that they are looking into
the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) makes sure that credit rating agencies are truthful
Volcker Rule restricts banks from being too risky
and the Whistleblower Program was empowered to give whistleblowers a portion of a litigation settlement.
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